The intimate Life of an Ottoman Statesman (Evliya Celebi)
.............He was so scrupulous in his dress that he only wore qar-ments sanctioned by religious law-various cotton stuffs, andthose silken weaves and other splendid stuffs not forbidden bythe seriat. And he was so clean and neat and elegant and re-fined, that he was famous among the veziers-his skirts werecleaner than the collars of his peers. ln fact the late Sultan Mu-rad used to say, "Ahmed. you are cleaner than me. and you arewithout fear or care: may God make your face white (i.e.. keepyou pure and free from shame) in both worlds and vouchsafeyou the bliss of both abodes." Then Murad Khan would intonethese verses: Pak-adama yok sozum aslaHiz-i napake gunde bin lanet I have nothing to say against the one with clean skirts.A thousand curses a day on the unclean catamite.He would look the little sword-bearer Mustafa in the face andsay, "What do you think about this poem Mustafa?" and thesword-bearer would turn red in the cheeks from embarrass-ment. Then he would present Melek and the sword-bearer eachwith a sable robe of honor. Indeed, Melek Pasha was clean skirted (i.e.. chaste) in everyrespect, and was pure in every respect. He was very upright andpious, learned in religious sciences and active in carrying outreligious prescriptions; he was virtuous and abstinent, a perlectgazi and brave vizier, the likes of Asaf son of Barakhya (the vi-zier of Sulaiman). He used to say, -From my childhood I have notbeen inclined to mingling with children and indulging in gamesand levity." Still, he was very skilled in archery, which is a sun-net of the Prophet, and in such sports as javelin throwing,swordplay, mace, and spear, and among his peers only ipsir Pashaand Seydi Ahmed Pasha could rival him in horsemanship and cavalryexercises. Being a strong and courageous champion,he was also unexcelled in wrestling, familiar with seventybranches of that science: very few champions could bring hisback to the ground. But sometimes he would have nice wrestlingmatches with his wife Kaya Sultan for the propagation ofthe species. In the end he would overcome Kaya Sultan and bringher down. He engaged in this sort of "-greatest cihad" forty-eighttimes a year--he did not indulge overmuch in sexual intercourse.In sum, we are not acquainted with any vizier, from thetime of Sultan Ahmed Khan to that of Sultan Murad Khan IV,who was so innocent and pure, so enlightened and so coura-geous. To be sure, Koca Bostancl and Koca Musa Pasha andKoca Kenan Pasha also has a reputation for innocence-Godhave mercy on them all. As for Melek Pasha, he never took a single step without per-forming his ablutions. Even when he engaged in sexual inter-course, he would immediately perform ablutions, then do thenighttime supererogatory prayers. He spent the capital of hisprecious life in the "fast of David." His associates and compan-ions were always the ulema, the pious seyhs, the dervishes, theweak and the poor. Among the preachers he was especially fondof Veli Efendi and Erdebili-zade. Attar's Pend-name was alwayson his tongue: he had gotten all its verses by heart. He read agood many books on the science of grammar, and was withoutequal in the science of canon law. Particularly the laws of inher-itance. He had by heart over 800 problems of the seriat and over1,000 prophetic Hadiths. Because he was inclined to the dervishpath, he had on the tip of his tongue several thousand verses ofthe noble Mesnevi of Mevlana (Rumi) and the Manevi of IbrahimGulseni, plus Persian and Turkish odes and mystical ghazelsthat he could recite at appropriate occasions. In the science of calligraphy he (illustrated the Hadith,"the best) script is what is legible." Still, he had been authorizedby Sultan Murad IV to draw the illustrious tugra, and under histutelage he learned to draw it in a manner that rivaled the pensof Bihzad and Mani. Koca Nisanci Ankebut Ahmed Pasha,Nasuh-Pasa-zade, Omer Bey, and our head of chancellery GinayiEfendi-all stood agape at Melek's tugra. In the early mornings he used to recite the litany of God'sbeautiful names in his private cell. On Monday evenings (Sun-day nights) he pertormed 40,000 noble invocations togetherwith his aghas of the interior, and on Friday evenings (Thursdaynights) he would recite the noble ihlas (Koran. sure 112) 12,000times. Even now, due to a vakf of 12,000 goldpieces that he sentfrom Baghdad, every Monday and Friday evening 40,000 invoca-tions of the Prophet and 40,000 recitations of the noble ihlas areperformed in accordance with his former practice in the smallroom and the large room of his private harem. This is a grandand wonderful pious establishment. Every year on the first day of Ramazan he would open histreasury, and his servants would remove whatever valuable ear-ments and vessels and weapons and other precious items therewere, and pile them up like mountains. Then he would "auc-tion" these goods off among his 345 interior aghas. Thus, forexample, he would sell a suit of armor for 1,000 invocations: asword for 50,000: a sable fur for a complete Koran recital: acoral prayer bead for 2,000 invocations: a jeweled musket for aKoran recital. His treasurer would keep a record of the numberof invocations and Koran recitals each person committed himselffor. Then on Monday and Friday evenings his marshals of theinterior service would make a public announcement, and every-one would come and carry out his obligations. These evenings,were like the Night of Power. Everyone eating musky sweet-meats of pistachios and almonds, drinking fruit syrups, and re-citing prayers. In this fashion his treasury was completelyemptied of weapons and other items: but by the following year,by God's command, it was even fuller than before. Whenever he went off to a provincial post, in order that theseven or eight precious hours not be wasted while traversing thestages of the journey, he would assemble all his interior aghasand they would ride together as a body in the mountains ordeserts or orchards, reciting aloud with a single voice the sureof Victory (sure 48) or the Muavvizeteyn (sures 113 and 114),causing the mountains and the valleys to resound. After Koran recitations, to acquaint his interior aghas andhis conscripts (levend) with the arts of warfare, he would linethem up against one another to play forty or fifty rounds ofjereed, or to show their skill in swordplay and archery or to fireguns from horseback in the Egyptian manner. Afterwards themarshals would stop these exercises, so as not to tire the horses,and they would enter camp in good order. He had a great fondness for horses, especially Arab steedsof good pedigree, such as Cilfidan, Mainek, Tarifi, Seylavi, Keb-ise, Mahmudi, Musafaha, Havara, Muhre, and Mehrani; and heliked to have seventy or eighty of them put through their pacesin his presence, under the awning of his tent pavilion. Before marrying Kaya Sultan he had 700 purchased slaveboys, for the most part Circassian and Abkhazian and Georgiangulams. He did not use to purchase Ukrainian gulams, con-sidering them degenerate and ill-mannered. If he received oneas a gift he accepted him, but then gave him away to one ofhis agas. He was also very fond of hunting, and used to ride out forpicnics, playing all sorts of pieces on his military band accord-ing to the regulation of the viziers. When he returned from theseexcursions he would donate the greater part of the game rightand left as largesse to the dervishes before he reached home. Never did he accept bribes or allow others to accept them,nor did he get posts by means of bribery. Rather, he accepteddismissal from office. Of course, he did use to send some of thespecialties of the regions he was governing, or some thorough-bred horses, as gifts (piskes) to the imperial stirrup and to theviziers and deputies. ln this fashion, there was hardly a lofty post in the Ottomanempire that he did not occupy. First, in the year 1048 (1638),below Baghdad, he was appointed commander-in-chief with theprovince of Diyarbekir. He was governor of Diyarbekir four times;of Anatolia province four times; of Ozu four times; of Erzurumtwo times. He was deputy governor of Aleppo two times; of Dam-ascus two times: and of Sivas one time. Once he commandedtroops going to Crete and went as far as Menefse castle. Once eachhe was commander (muhafiz) of-Tenedos, governor of Bosnia.lieutenant-commander of the Transylvania campaign, and gover-nor of Baghdad. In 1060 (1650) he served as grand vizier for ayear and a half. During his vizierate he sent reinforcements toDeli Huseyin Pasha on Crete, allowing him to conquer Retimo,Selina, and seven other strong fortresses. He was dismissedfrom the grant vizierate in 1060 ( 1651). Once he was deputygrand vizier for Koprulu. In sum, he held all the posts of thisperishing realm and administered justice in this world. He livedfor seventy-seven years. Finally, in the year ----, on the---- day of the month of -----, in conformity with the noblerescript: "Return to your Lord"(Koran. 12:50), Melek was awardedas his portion of the unperishing realm the post of the loftiestparadise, and he proceeded to the side of God without retinue andwithout servants- may God have mercy on his soul. SCANNED FROM:The intimate Life of an Ottoman StatesmanMelek Ahmet Pasha (1588-1662)As portrayed in Evliya Celebi's Book of TravelsTranslation by Robery Dankoff